The Walt Disney Company committed to an aggressive set of environmental objectives on Monday for their extensive holdings of offices, retail complexes, theme parks and cruise lines. They plan to cut carbon emissions from fuels by half by 2012, and ultimately to achieve net zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. They also set a goal to totally eliminate waste sent to landfills through recycling, composting and buying post-consumer recycled materials. You can read their entire corporate responsibility report at www.disney.com/crreport.
This level of commitment, despite the suffering economy, should cause others to follow suit. The scale of this commitment will spur innovation and will increase the amount of available renewable energy, alternative fuels, recycled materials, and other green services for all. It’s an exciting development that should do much to bolster the Disney brand.
The commitment to have a net positive impact on ecosystems is particularly interesting. Disney has been a geospatial innovator for some time, and this development will likely lead to some exciting sensor web and decision support system enhancements. When large corporations such as Disney take on such environmental challenges, we all stand to benefit.
